Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the implementation of customized telecommunication services on behalf of data network telephony subscribers. More particularly, the invention pertains to a system and method for the remote activation of customized telecommunication services during periods of subscriber network connectivity and non-connectivity alike.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Data network telephony subscribers, like Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) subscribers, may require customized calling services during times when they are not able, or do not wish, to receive calls at their usual network call terminating location. Unlike PSTN subscribers, however, data network telephony subscribers are not always connected to the data network. For example, assume a telephony subscriber is connected to a corporate Local Area Network (LAN) that in turn connects to the Internet via a corporate gateway. A corporate communication server (e.g., a packet-based multimedia PBX system) may be further provided to establish a telephony service interface for the subscriber. This equipment is generally not as robust as the switching infrastructure of the PSTN, which after many years of operation has achieved a very high level of system reliability and availability. If the corporate gateway or corporate communication server malfunctions or is taken out of service, the telephony subscriber will not be present on the network during the period of non-connectivity.
A more profound connectivity issue exists relative to dial-up telephony subscribers. By design, dial-up telephony subscribers are disconnected each time they log off the network. In the usual case, the time period of non-connection will greatly exceed the duration of connection.
The problem of intermittent data network connectivity gives rise to a need for customized telecommunication services that can be activated to provide specialized call treatment on behalf of network telephony subscribers without regard to subscriber connection status. Existing data network telephony servers, such as Internet/PSTN gateways and network telephony proxies, do not currently provide such functionality. Although data network feature servers provide advanced call-handling services on behalf of data network telephony subscribers, such services do not currently include custom call routing on behalf of non-connected data network telephony subscribers without direct knowledge of subscriber profiles.
What is required is a system and method that can function independently of subscriber network connections and allow telephony service providers to offer uninterrupted custom call treatment regardless of subscriber connectivity.
A system and method for remote activation of customized telecommunication services for data network telephony subscribers provides a novel solution to the foregoing problem. In response to a call originator placing a call to a terminating telephony subscriber in the data network, a telephony server routes the call according to custom telecommunication service instructions provided in advance by the telephony subscriber, and stored remotely from the telephony subscriber""s point of presence on the data network. For example, an attempt may first be made to setup the call to the telephony subscriber""s assigned network address. Upon the telephony server being unable to establish a call connection to the telephony subscriber at the specified address, call redirection may be invoked and the call routed to an alternative destination. In other cases, an incoming call may be rerouted to a designated alternate location without first attempting a call setup to the telephony subscriber""s network address. It will be appreciated that the custom telecommunication service instructions can be many and varied.
The call originator may be a data network telephony subscriber or a subscriber in a voice network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). For the former group, the telephony server may be a telephony proxy operating in the data network. For the latter group, the telephony server may be a data network/PSTN gateway. If desired, the telephony proxy and gateway functions may be combined on a single platform. To implement its functions, the telephony server retrieves the subscriber""s custom telecommunication service instructions (along with the subscriber""s network address) from a subscriber profile server that maintains a network interface on the data network. The subscriber profile server can be implemented as part of the telephony server or may be remote therefrom. This server maintains a subscriber profile database that contains the custom telecommunication service instructions for individual data network telephony subscribers, along with subscriber identification information. The subscriber identification information includes a data network address that is mapped against a Network Access Identifier (NAI). The NAI, in turn, is mapped against a provisioned telephony number. The telephony number is preferably a PSTN-dialable telephone number conforming to the ITU E.164 numbering standard. A registration procedure allows subscribers to notify the subscriber profile server that they are connected to the data network and ready to receive telephony service. A registration server can be used to provide the subscriber""s current network address to the subscriber profile server during the registration process. The registration server could be co-located with the subscriber profile server, or it could be located at any other point in the data network. If the telephony subscriber has dial-up network connectivity, the registration server could be co-located with, and part of, the telephony subscriber""s network access server. The network access server would normally be remote from the (telephony) subscriber profile server, unless the telephony service provider is also the network access provider, which could be the case in the future as data network service providers expand and diversify.